Gandalf's Staff
by Juliette4
Summary: Merry and Pippin have dropped Gandalf's staff in the river! Now the whole group is off through Middle Earth to find it. A good tale Of love, friendship, adventure, and really funny And cute. hobbits! Chp. 4 coming!
1. At The Tavern

A/N:

Timeline: This story takes place after the Lord Of The Rings, but Rosie and Sam have not gotten together yet, (Obviously) and Gandalf and Frodo have not left yet. (Obviously.) Everyone is probably in different places than they were when the books ended, but I don't know, as I'm in the middle of reading the books now.

Geology: I looked at a map in the book, and there is no river going straight from the Shire to Rivendell, so I made one up. I'm going to say it goes all the way to meet up with the Anduin. (The river that flows from Lothlorien all of the way down to Gondor.)

Time: (As opposed to timeline.) I wrote in here that it takes about five days to get from the Shire to Rivendell, which it most definitely doesn't, but for the purpose of this story, it does.

Now enough minor technicalities! Relax and enjoy the story! Please don't review and tell me that it isn't realistic as far as the books or even the movies are concerned, because I already know that. It's just meant ot be fun and entertaining. In no way am I as good a writer as J.R.R. Tolkien!

If you hate my story and wish to flame it, go right ahead, I'll ignore it. Most of you flamers are too cowardly to even review non-anonymously anyways so there. :P.

Enjoy! Enough of my too-long author's note! Read! Review! And be merry!!!!!

Juliette. (4.)

Gandalf's Staff.

Chapter One:

At The Tavern.

Frodo, Merry, Pippin, and Samwise were all at the tavern, drinking and having a merry time.

Frodo was merry, Merry and Pippin were goofy, and Sam spent most of his time gazing at the waitress, Rosie.

"Cheer up, Sam," said Frodo, "there's to much to be happy about to be brooding in your drink."

"I know," said Sam glumly. "Except for one thing. And that's that Rosie hasn't paid me so much as a glance all evening."

Suddenly Merry and Pippin who hadn't been listening at all, jumped up out of their seats and linking their arms, started dancing around, singing nothing in particular, except: "La, la alala alaal alaalalal laa lal ala la!" They broke down into their chairs again, in a heap of laughter.

Frodo rolled his eyes at Sam, but Sam continued staring at Rosie, his chin in his hand.

Merry glanced at Pippin and Frodo, and then leaned over and poked Sam, causing him to shriek and throw his drink up in the air, right onto an innocent Pippin.

This in turn, caused _Pippin _to shriek and he held his shirt away from his body. "Ew, I'm all wet!" he exclaimed.

Merry pointed at him and howled with laughter. Pippin glared at him. "Oh yeah? Well, see how you like it!" And he proceeded to dump his drink on Merry's head.

Merry, now soaking wet, glowered at Pippin. He picked up his drink. "Oh yeah? Well, see how Frodo likes it!" And he turned around and threw his drink on Frodo.

"Ah!" exclaimed Frodo, who had previously been snickering.

Merry and Pippin were laughing so hard they were crying, and they slung their arms around each other's shoulders and laughed uproariously.

Frodo grinned and shook his head, raising his drink to his lips.

After a few moments, Merry and Pippin had calmed down and they looked dejectedly into their empty cups. They looked at each other and commented on their various states of wetness and even managed another snicker at Frodo before they suddenly looked at Sam, the only dry one of the group. Frodo glanced over too, and they all smiled a little evilly at him.

Sam noticed them looking and he threw up his hands. "I'm innocent!" He cried.

His hands, or rather one hand up in the air, was the signal in that tavern for a refill of drinks, and Rosie saw it and headed over to their table. Sam didn't notice.

"I wasn't laughing or nothing, honestly!"

Merry and Pippin looked over at Frodo, who was the only one with a full cup and he grinned and raised his cup as if to dump it on Sam.

Sam covered his head.

Just then Frodo saw Rosie over Sam's shoulder and he lowered his cup. Merry and Pippin looked over where Frodo was looking and then the table was silent.

Sam lifted his arms and his head just in time to see Rosie stop at their table.

"Did any of you want a refill?" she asked sweetly.

Merry and Pippin immediately held out their cups and smiled winningly at her. Sam managed a weak smile before also holding up his cup.

Rosie shook her head as she refilled their cups. "Perhaps if you stopped playing around with your drinks, you wouldn't need a refill!" She said. "The only gentleman I see is Mister Samwise here." She gave him a smile and went on her way to the next table.

Merry's mouth dropped open. "Sam, a gentleman!?" He and Pippin started laughing again, and Frodo smiled at Sam.

"I think she likes you, Sam."

Sam was bright red he stared after Rosie for a moment, before turning and looking at Frodo. "You really think so, Mister Frodo?" He asked hopefully.

"Yes," said Frodo. "And now..." He threw his drink on Sam.

Merry and Pippin, surprised, looked over at Sam, their eyes wide. Then they cracked up laughing, slapping Frodo on the back, who only grinned and raised his eyebrows at Sam.

Sam, whose mouth was hanging open, sat there in shock as liquid dripped from his hair and nose. And then finally, he too, smiled and started laughing.

Their laughter was short-lived however, for a moment later, the door to the tavern banged open and a tall wizard with long white hair and a white robe and cloak stormed into the room, causing the whole tavern to look at him. "Peregrin Took, and Meriadoc Brandybuck!" He shouted.

"Gandalf!" Gasped Merry and Pippin, and they dived under the table, quivering over by Frodo's legs.

"Ah!" Said Frodo, for the second time that evening. "Get off!"

Gandalf stomped over to the table. "Where are they?" He asked, obviously angry. Before Frodo or Sam had a chance to answer, he looked under the table and pulled out a terrified Pippin and Merry. He shook them. "What did you do with it!?" He thundered.

"Do with what?" Merry attempted to say innocently.

"Do not play games with me, Meriadoc!" Shouted Gandalf, still very angry, "what did you do with it?"

"We didn't do it on purpose, honestly!" Quivered Pippin.

"Do what?" Frodo asked, curiously.

"These two idiots stole my staff!"

"Hey!" Said Merry indignantly.

"What did you do with it!?" Gandalf shook them harder.

Merry squeaked.

"We didn't mean to!" Pippin said.

"Didn't mean to WHAT?" Gandalf dropped Merry.

"Nothing," Merry said quickly, "we didn't do anything."

"Silence!" Roared Gandalf. He turned back to Pippin. "Well?"

"It was an accident!" Pippin insisted.

"WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY STAFF!?" Gandalf shouted.

"We didn't mean to drop it in the river!" Yelled Merry. "It was an accident!"

Gandalf dropped Pippin and turned to Merry, who covered his mouth quickly. "Oops," he said.

"You did WHAT?!" Gandalf asked.

"Uhhhh..." Said Merry.

Gandalf rubbed his forehead. "I have got to get my staff! You two are coming with me!" He pointed at Merry and Pippin. "Whether you like it or not!"

"When did you drop the staff in the river, Merry?" Frodo asked.

"About 5 days ago," said Merry.

Frodo thought for a moment then looked at Gandalf. "Gandalf, your staff would be all the way at Rivendell by now!"

Gandalf thought for a moment. "You're right. We'd better hurry then. Let's go!" And he yanked poor Merry and Pippin out the door.

Frodo stood up and ran after them, leaving Sam alone at the table.

Sam sighed in frustration and looked back and forth between Rosie and the door. Rosie came over to the table. "Are all of your friends leavin' Mister Samwise?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah," he said glumly."

"Where are they off to in such a hurry?"

"They're goin' off on another adventure I expect," Sam said.

"Well, why aren't you goin' with them?"

Sam shrugged and stood up. "I s'pose I am."

Rosie smiled. "Well then take this along with you." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. "You have a good evening, Mister Samwise." She smiled at him and went back behind the counter.

Sam stood there in shock for a moment, his mouth hanging open before he pulled himself together and shook his head. "Well, then," he said to himself, "I guess I'm off on another adventure." And he walked out the door to join his friends, giving one last glance to Rosie.


	2. The First Part Of Their Journey

A/N: This chapter is more action centered, rather than focusing on the character's emotions, but it'll get better.

Chapter Two:

The First Part Of Their Journey.

With Gandalf on Shadowfax, and the hobbits on their ponies, they went and gathered a good amount of supplies. For the next few days they made as quick a pace as possible, sleeping little, eating quickly, and going fast. Going through the Shire, through Bree, and on.

Gandalf was very cross with Merry and Pippin, as could be expected, seeing as he didn't really understand why they did what they did.

As they were riding along, Frodo rode up next to them and asked: "Why did you drop Gandalf's staff in the river?"

"It was an accident!" Merry said hotly. "We were hoping we could do some magic and it didn't work."

"What kind of magic were you trying to do?"

"He was trying to save my life!" Said Pippin. "I was drownin' and he held out the staff for me to grab onto. It wasn't long enough so he tried to magic it into growing longer when he dropped it."

"It was all wet and slippery!" Merry protested.

"So how'd you get out?" Frodo asked, with raised eybrows.

"I grabbed onto a log and it drifted me back to shore," said Pippin.

"What were you doing with Gandalf's staff in the first place?" Asked Sam, who'd been listening in.

"Gandalf was going on a picnic with us," said Merry. "And he fell asleep. We hoped he wouldn't notice his staff was gone, and he didn't.......until now."

"Why didn't you tell Gandalf?" Sam asked.

"He wouldn't believe us," Pippin said glancing over at the tall wizard.

That night, they stopped as usual by the river, as Gandalf wanted to make sure he would be able to see his staff should somehow it pass by them.

They all sat around smoking their pipes and what-not, quietly thinking their own thoughts. Pippin was thinking about food, Merry was thinking about stealing Gandalf's hat, and wondering what kind of reaction that might get from him, Sam was dreaming of Rosie, Frodo was thinking of the past, and Gandalf was thinking of the future.

At that moment, they heard a voice singing, and then who should appear over the hill but Tom Bombadil!

Gandalf jumped to his feet. "Tom Bombadil!" He exclaimed. He gave him a hug. "I had forgotten we were near to you."

Tom greeted all of the hobbits then Gandalf took him aside and talked with him for hours, until the hobbits decided it would be good to get some rest.

A few minutes after they had all settled down, Tom Bombadil waved goodbye to Gandalf, and headed back over to the hobbits. He kneeled down beside them, and looked at Merry and Pippin. "Don't worry, he's not really too angry with you, you just don't realize how very important that staff is. Not only to him, but because of the magic in it that he uses." He talked with them a few minutes more before shaking their hands and standing up. "May we meet again someday!" He smiled and waved and walked back the way he came, whistling and singing, leaving the group to their thoughts once more.

The next morning, the four hobbits and the tall wizard rode along at a fast pace, or as fast as they could go, and were silent, because the morning was cold and gloomy and foggy, and none of them had wanted to get out of bed, except for Gandalf, who wanted his staff.

Merry was beginning to wish that he'd never heard of a staff, and Pippin was wondering if he was going crazy, because he kept thinking weird thoughts like: 'what if Merry got married to that rock?' and, 'I want to live in the pony's fur.' and, 'Gandalf looks like a turkey when he sits like that.' The last one made him start cracking up laughing, and he nearly fell off of his pony. Merry stared at him, Frodo and Sam looked up.

"What on earth is so funny?" Merry asked, irritated because he didn't understand the joke.

Pippin just laughed harder, and to the confusion of the hobbits, he continued laughing for the next 15 minutes, which only reinforced his opinion that he wasn't right in the head. Frankly, the others were bound to agree with him.

After riding for a bit more, Gandalf began to speed up. "Hurry up!" He called over his shoulder. "Rivendell is just over that rise!"

When they reached Rivendell, Gandalf hurriedly swung off of Shadowfax in time to be greeted by Elrond.

"Gandalf!" Said Elrond. "What are you doing here?"

"No time for chit-chat," said Gandalf, "have you seen my staff?"

Elrond blinked. "No......not that I know of. Why would I have seen your staff?"

Gandalf waved his hand at Merry and Pippin. "These two imbeciles dropped it in the river, back in the shire about 10 days ago. Have you seen it?"

Elrond blinked again. "No, I haven't. But I'm sure someone has. We always have elves by the river. I'll ask Arwen. Arwen!"

A moment later Arwen came running up to him. "Yes, Daddy?" She asked breathlessly. Then she saw the group standing before him. "Merry, Pippin, Sam, Frodo, Gandalf! What are you doing here?"

"Merry and Pippin have dropped Gandalf's staff in the river about 10 days ago and they've come looking for it," Elrond summed up. "Have you seen it?"

Arwen thought a moment. "No, I haven't. And if anyone else had seen it, it would have been reported to me immediately. It must have gotten past us some how."

"Then it is on the way to Lothlorien! We must hurry!" Gandalf hopped on Shadowfax.

"Wait!" Said Arwen. "There's someone here who would like to see you, wait right here!" And she hurried off.

Gandalf impatiently tapped his long fingers on the side of Shadowfax's neck. "I do wish she'd hurry up!" He muttered, when Arwen came running back, pulling along, Legolas and Gimli.

"Look!" She exclaimed. "They came for a visit and I thought you might want to say hi."

"Hi," said Gandalf quickly. "And now I must be off. I have to get to Lorien before my staff goes any further."

"Gimli and I have decided to go with you," said Legolas quickly.

"I explained everything to them," said Arwen, looking very proud of herself.

"We'll only take a minute to gather some supplies," said Gimli.

"Hurry up then!" Said Gandalf. "I really cannot linger!"

Legolas and Gimli hurried off, Arwen right behind them. A few minutes later they came back with three horses and a few packs of supplies. "I've decided to go too!" Said Arwen happily.

Elrond stepped in front of her. "Arwen, no, you might get hurt."

"Oh nonsense, Daddy," said Arwen nonplussed. She swung up on her horse. "I'll miss you!" She blew him a kiss.

"Come on!" Said Gandalf and started riding away.

One by one, the others followed him, and with one last goodbye to Elrond, they all went off towards Lothlorien, three more added to their group.


	3. The Second Part Of Their Journey

A/N: I forgot to mention my two reviewers in my previous chapter, I apologize.

Thank you to jogreenleaf1 I'm glad you think my characters are realistic. Personally, I think they're a little more carefree than in the books or movies, but I like them carefree. After all, they have a right to be, everything's over and done with, it's happy time! Ahem. Anyways, I hope you continue reading!

Thank you also to Astudent, Gandalf may not have been to realistic, I made him a bit more temperamental I think, but it's alright, not too bad. And as you can see that changes a bit in this chapter. Also you see how Merry and Pippin got the staff and why they were hesitant to tell him about it in the second chapter. I'm glad you think my story's intriguing!

Juliette4

Chapter Three:

The Second Part Of Their Journey.

The group's journey would have been very boring had they not had each other to talk to. Amiably they all rode along, talking, and catching up on things that had happened. Not much had happened to Gimli, but Legolas had many stories to tell about things that he'd done, and things that had happened to him.

While Gandalf, Gimli, Merry, Pippin, and Sam listened to Legolas, Frodo rode up next to Arwen, whose hair was blowing back in the wind and looked happy to just be riding her horse. Frodo decided to start a conversation with her.

"So, Arwen. What kind of things do you like to do in your spare time?"

Arwen looked over at him. "Shop! I love to shop! It's so much fun! Unfortunately, there aren't many places to shop in Rivendell, and I have to go all the way to Lothlorien to get good elven clothes. Or even to the Grey Havens! It's very frustrating. That's one of the reasons I decided to come with you all." She smiled at Frodo.

Frodo smiled weakly back. "Excuse me," he said. He rode back to join Sam, who had slowed down to adjust his saddle. "Arwen's a bit of an airhead, Sam," he informed him.

Sam looked up, surprised. "Really? I always thought she was very pretty."

"She is, but beauty isn't everything."

Sam looked impressed. "Why, that's very nice Mister Frodo!"

Later that afternoon, after they had been riding for a bit, Arwen shouted out and then proceeded to inform them all of what was to her the best news in the world.

"I just remembered! Aragorn left to go to Lothlorien the other day, just before you two arrived," she said looking at Gimli and Legolas, "He was on foot, so we should be catching up with him soon!" She bounced in her saddle. "Oh, I can't wait!"

Gimli and Legolas looked at each other, but didn't say anything.

Arwen was right though, because sure enough, the next day, in the distance they saw a figure, and as they slowly gained on it, they could see it was Aragorn. Excited, they moved faster, especially Arwen.

Arwen rode up right behind Aragorn, and when he turned around, she screeched. "Aragorn!" She leaped off of her horse and onto him, and they fell onto the ground with a thump and an "oof!" from Aragorn.

Arwen put her hands around Aragorn and started kissing him all over his face. "Oh, Aragorn! I missed you so much!"

Aragorn choked. "I was-ah!-only gone two-ah!-days, Arwen."

"I still missed you!" She exclaimed.

Aragorn finally managed to stand up and looked up at all of the riders on their horses, standing around watching him. He put his arm around Arwen who was clinging to him.

"What are all of you doing here!?" He exclaimed.

Everyone hopped of off their horses and swarmed around him, giving him hugs and pats on the back. Pippin hugged the only thing he could reach, his legs.

After all of the hellos had been said, Aragorn looked at Gandalf. "You still haven't told me what you're doing here."

Gandalf looked at Merry and Pippin, and their smiles disappeared.

"These two nincompoops dropped my staff in the river, and we've been following it all the way from the Shire. We stopped at Rivendell, and there Gimli, Legolas, and," he gestured at Arwen, "Arwen joined us."

Aragorn nodded. "Ah, I see. Where are you heading now?"

"To Lothlorien!" Arwen piped up. "I'm going to go shopping, and Frodo is going to go with me!"

"Yeah," said Frodo, "she's going shopping and-WHAT?!"

"Don't you like to go shopping Frodo?" Arwen asked.

"Uh..." said Frodo.

Merry and Pippin snickered and the rest of them grinned.

"You can go shopping Arwen, but I think Frodo will probably just want to rest and relax." Aragorn winked and smiled at Frodo.

"Of course!" said Arwen, "then you can go shopping with me, Aragorn!"

Aragorn's smile disappeared. "Uh..."

Frodo grinned.

"I'll go shopping with you, Arwen," Sam spoke up, "I was plannin' on buyin' something for Rosie anyways."

"Why Sam!" Aragorn exclaimed, "did you finally ask Rosie to be your girlfriend!?"

Pippin and Merry laughed, and Sam turned pink.

"No sir," he muttered.

Aragorn bit back a smile. "Perhaps soon then."

Gandalf, who had been quiet, swung up on Shadowfax. "We must be on our way. I can not afford to lose another second."

"Yes, of course," said Aragorn, "do you mind if I ride with you?"

"Not at all!" Said Legolas, "I will ride with Gimli, and you can have my horse."

"Thank you!" said Aragorn, and they started off again.

The hobbits made Aragorn ride back with them so that they could talk to him, and Arwen rode with them too, because she wanted to be near Aragorn.

"Now, what is all this about Gandalf's staff?" Aragorn asked.

So they told him the whole story, and when they finished, he looked thoughful for a minute. "I'm going to talk to Gandalf," he said, "I'm sure he'll understand."

"He'll definitely listen to you!" Pippin approved.

"Yes he will!" Said Arwen, smiling at Aragorn.

Aragorn smiled back, and then they moved onto a lighter topic.

That night, after dinner, Aragorn, Gandalf and Gimli sat smoking their pipes together. The hobbits were over getting ready for bed and talking with Arwen. Legolas sat with Gimli, Aragorn and Gandalf, but said he didn't smoke, thanks anyways.

Gandalf seemed peaceful, and the conversation had ceased, so Aragorn decided that now would be a good time to talk to Gandalf.

"Gandalf, you aren't still mad at Merry and Pippin are you?"

Gandalf sighed. "A little."

"Ah, don't be too upset with the wee ones," Gimli said, "everyone makes mistakes."

"Yes," said Aragorn, "and they didn't mean to make this mistake." He told Gandalf everything that the hobbits had told him and Gandalf sighed.

"I was so upset I didn't think that there might be a reason for what they did. I suppose I owe them an apology."

Gimli, Aragorn and Legolas nodded.

Gandalf sighed again and standing up, went over to where the four hobbits were smoking their pipes. "Merry, Pippin, I wonder if I may have a word with you."

Merry and Pippin looked at each other, but stood up and followed Gandalf a little ways away.

"Look, I know I haven't exactly been very nice to you two," started Gandalf.

"That's an understatement!" Said Merry.

Gandalf gave him a look, and he shut up.

"But you have to understand, I didn't realize that it was to rescue Pippin that you used my staff." He put his hand on Pippin's shoulder. "Will you forgive me?"

"Well..." said Merry.

Pippin stepped on his foot.

"Yes! Of course we'll forgive you," said Merry, wincing.

"Good," said Gandalf with a smile, and he gave them a hug. "And next time, well hopefully there won't BE a next time, but if there should be, I'll try not to jump ahead without getting all of the information first, alright?"

Merry and Pippin nodded.

"Good," Gandalf said again. "Now get some sleep, we should reach Lothlorien by noon tomorrow, if my calculations are correct."

"Alright," said Pippin, "please tell Aragorn thank you for us."

Gandalf looked puzzled. "Thank you?"

Pippin nodded and Gandalf just shrugged his eyebrows. "Alright then, I will. "Good night!"

Merry and Pippin rejoined Sam and Frodo, and Sam peered after Gandalf. "What did 'e want?" He mumbled around his pipe.

"He apologized!" Said Pippin, snuggling down into his blankets.

"He seemed to mean it, too," said Merry.

"That's because he DID mean it, Merry," said Pippin, "just because YOU can't apologize nicely doesn't mean that other people can't."

"Well!" Sputtered Merry. "How rude!"

Sam and Frodo rolled their eyes at each other.

After a few moments of peaceful silence, listening to the others going to bed, Frodo turned his head towards Sam and asked: "what are you planning on getting Rosie, Sam?"

"I was thinking of a nice elvish necklace," said Sam, "I'll be able to decide whether or not she'll like it better than I can if I buy perfume, which was my first choice."

"I think a necklace is a nice idea," Pippin said, "If I had a girlfriend, I'd give her a necklace."

"Yeah, notice the way you word that, Pippin. IF you had a girlfriend. You don't have one now, what makes you think you'll get one anytime soon?" He laughed.

Pippin punched Merry.

"Ow!" said Merry. He punched Pippin back.

"Ow!" said Pippin.

Sam rolled his eyes at the star-sprinkled sky. "Anyhow, Rosie isn't my girlfriend."

"But I'm sure she will be, Sam," said Frodo, "when you ask her."

"That's just it Mister Frodo, I can't seem to figure out HOW to ask her. I don't know if she likes me back."

"I'm sure she likes you Sam, more than any girl would ever like Pippin, besides his mother. Ha ha ha-ow!" Merry rubbed his arm where Pippin hit it again.

"Stop saying bad things about me, Merry," Pippin said, glaring at him.

Frodo snickered.

"I know Rosie likes you, Sam, everytime I go in the tavern she says something nice about you," Pippin offered.

"Yeah, Sam, remember the last time we were in the tavern she said you were the only gentleman," said Frodo, laughing.

"I can't understand that at all," said Merry, "I'm a perfect gentleman."

Pippin snorted. "Please, Merry, you wouldn't know how to be nice to a blade of grass."

"Well, of course I wouldn't know how to be nice to a blade of grass! Grass doesn't have feelings so anything you say could be nice!"

Frodo blew out of the side of his mouth. "You are pathetic."

"I agree," said Pippin, "Merry IS pathetic."

"Hey!" Said Merry.

"I meant both of you," said Frodo.

Sam laughed.

"Hey!" Merry and Pippin exclaimed together.

"Can't you go to bed?" Asked a gruff voice from around the fire that they recognized as Gimli's.

"Sorry, Gimli!" Frodo called.

"It's alright, just try to keep it down please." Gimli sounded quite irritated.

"See what you did, Pippin?" Merry whispered. "You're waking everyone up."

"I can't wake everyone up Merry, no one was asleep."

"How do you know that? I didn't see you get up and go look."

"Because...." Pippin stopped. "Just because."

Merry laughed. "Ha ha ha, Pippin, you just say that because you don't know what else to say."

Pippin frowned. "Oh yeah? Well, well, you have a big nose!"

Sam snorted and Frodo laughed.

"HEY!" Said Merry, outraged. He hated it when someone said something about his nose. "I do NOT have a big nose!"

"Go to bed!" shouted five grumpy voices from around the fire.

Merry and Pippin meekly shut up, and before long, all four hobbits and their five companions fell asleep beneath the star-filled sky, to the nightly music of crickets and frogs.


End file.
